51萝莉

Nearly 10,000 people including graduates, family members and friends filled Toyota Arena in Ontario on Thursday for the 2024 51萝莉 Commencement ceremony, marking the completion of academic programs for 2,300 students.

51萝莉鈥檚 class of 2024 earned about 3,300 degrees and certificates. The class includes seven valedictorians and more 29 high school students graduating from Chaffey through the dual enrollment program.

鈥淲hether you are going on to a four-year college or university or entering the workforce, you are taking your Chaffey education with you and making our communities and our world a better place,鈥� said 51萝莉 Superintendent/President Henry D. Shannon.

, bestselling author of the 2012 book 鈥溾�� shared her story of crossing the U.S. border at 9-years-old, and the struggle to find self-confidence as a writer. With the encouragement of teachers and other mentors, she turned her struggle into a successful career.

鈥淚n some way, you are all storytellers yourselves. Aren鈥檛 you? You get to be the author of your own story 鈥� not your parents, not your teachers, not the voices on social media clamoring to shape your narrative,鈥� she said.

The class of 2024鈥檚 cumulative GPA was 3.23, a slight increase from 2023. The oldest graduate is 78-year-old, while the youngest is 15.

Chaffey鈥檚 student speaker Alexis Yrigoyen, an anthropology major from Chino Hills, shared her story of struggling with bullying in high school, and how it affected her confidence as a college student. After attempting five previous times to earn a college degree, she finally finished what she started.

鈥淗ere I am on this stage today, standing before you as a college graduate,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd here you are! You know that voice in our head that says we can鈥檛 do it, that we aren鈥檛 smart? We defied that voice.鈥�

Yrigoyen is transferring to Cal Poly Pomona to major in anthropology.